Congratulations from me, as well.
With respect to building your resume and you portfolio, why don't you think about volunteering your services at some place like:
http://www.operationphotorescue.org
If I remember correctly, I believe the guy that runs it is Dave Ellis. If you are accepted as a volunteer there, it is clear to anyone that you met their rather stringent requirements, which, in itself can be put on your resume. In addition, volunteering for them will give you both more experience, and if you get permission, a source of before-after images for your portfolio.
Similarly, you could also see if any of the commercial portrait retouching services would take you on as a freelancer. Again, at minimum it's another item to put on your resume, and the work that you would do as a portrait retoucher would be wildly different from the type of PP work Ellis' operation does.
With respect to your photography, that's a hard nut to crack these days because the new, automated digital cameras make it relatively easy for anyone to get technically competent photos, so the competition you will face is high. Think about getting pix published in your local paper or the local TV news. You will face less competition in a local market. Start by attending local events (eg, sports, civic, etc.) and quickly sending the local paper a few pix from each. You can also monitor the police / fire frequencies and try to get pix of accidents and other major problems in your area and get the pix to your local paper or TV station in minutes, i.e., before anyone else beats you.
Just some ideas ...
Tom M